It’s no secret that Central Oregon’s population of those without homes is increasing—and those working to ease the crisis are looking for some more locals to join the effort. When Bend’s 2nd Street shelter moved from being a temporary warming shelter to a full-time low-barrier shelter this June, with it came the need to offer breakfast and dinner service for the up to 70 people who stay there each night. Now, Shepherd’s House Ministries, which operates the shelter through funds from the City of Bend and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, is asking the public to pitch in and make dinners.
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Without a commercial kitchen on site at the present time, the shelter relies on donated meals prepared offsite.
“We are looking to fill about three to four dinners per week. Also, we are looking to fill 5-6 breakfasts per week,” Shepherd’s House Director of Emergency Services John Lodise told the Source. “While I do not want to stifle anyone’s creativity, popular choices for dinner include lasagna, hot dogs, Cobb Salad, chili, spaghetti, light chicken dishes and meat loaf. For breakfast, common choices include breakfast burritos, hardboiled eggs, sandwiches (doesn’t have to be strictly breakfast) and supplemental items such as fruit, granola bars, fruit cups, string cheese, and bagels (with cream cheese). Bottled water is also a large ongoing need.” Bringing the plates, napkins and cutlery for the meals is also welcome, Lodise said.
Shelter leaders hope to recruit churches, community groups, businesses and neighborhood groups to sign up for a designated night each month, ensuring that there’s always a healthful meal for guests at the end of the night. Groups interested in cooking a meal—or making ongoing meals—can sign up for the Meal Train by visiting the website, bendshelterfood.org.
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This article appears in Sep 22-29, 2021.
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regarding: A Foodie’s Solution To Helping The Houseless Community
Wouldn’t it make sense to engage a non-profit commercial kitchen to provide meals that are planned, scheduled, and of sound nutrition. Donations could support sourcing food from local farmers, and there may be other funding sources to boost the effort. It would help everyone if we could monetize these markets instead of relying on one off donations.